Methods and Apparatus for Indexing and/or Advertising in a User Selected Downloaded Digital Video Recording

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus of indexing a previously digitally recorded program of an audio and video program, including downloading at least two sections of the digital recording of the audio and video program, receiving an index of the digital audio and video program to be associated with the digital recording of the audio and video program so as to navigate the digital recording of the audio and video program, associating the index to the digital audio and video recording enabling a user of the digitally recorded audio and video program to navigate the digital recording of the audio and video program according to the index, and enabling the user to navigate the indexed associated digital recording of the audio/video program using the index applied to the digital recording of the audio and video program such that the program is interactively and continuously indexed on the multimedia device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/327,532 entitled “Methods and Apparatus for Indexing and/orAdvertising in a User Selected Downloaded Digital Video Recording” filedon Jul. 9, 2014, the contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The Field of the Invention

A digital video recorder (DVR), sometimes referred to by themerchandising term personal video recorder (PVR), is a consumerelectronics device or application software that records video in adigital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card, SSD orother local or networked mass storage device. The term includes set-topboxes (STB) with direct to disk recording facility, portable mediaplayers (PMP) with recording, recorders (PMR) as camcorders that recordonto Secure Digital memory cards and software for personal computerswhich enables video capture and playback to and from a hard disk drive.A television set with built-in digital video-recording facilities wasintroduced by LG in 2007, followed by other manufacturers.

Consumer digital video recorders ReplayTV and TiVo were launched at the1999 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, USA. Microsoft alsodemonstrated a unit with DVR capability, but this did not becomeavailable until the end of 1999 for full DVR features in Dish Network'sDISHplayer receivers. TiVo shipped their first units on Mar. 31, 1999.ReplayTV won the “Best of Show” award in the video category withNetscape co-founder Marc Andreessen as an early investor and boardmember, but TiVo was more successful commercially. While early legalaction by media companies forced ReplayTV to remove many features suchas automatic commercial skip and the sharing of recordings over theInternet, newer devices have steadily regained these functions whileadding complementary abilities, such as recording onto DVDs andprogramming and remote control facilities using PDAs, networked PCs, andWeb browsers.

Hard-disk based digital video recorders make the “time shifting” feature(traditionally done by a VCR) much more convenient, and also allow for“trick modes” such as pausing live TV, instant replay of interestingscenes, chasing playback where a recording can be viewed before it hasbeen completed, and skipping of advertising. Most DVRs use the MPEGformat for compressing the digitized video signals. Video recordingcapabilities have become an essential part of the modern set-top box, asTV viewers have wanted to take control of their viewing experiences. Asconsumers have been able to converge increasing amounts of video contenton their set-tops, delivered by traditional ‘broadcast’ cable, satelliteand terrestrial as well as IP networks, the ability to captureprogramming and view it whenever they want has become a must-havefunction for many consumers.

At the 1999 CES, Dish Network demonstrated the hardware that would laterhave DVR capability with the assistance of Microsoft software which alsoincluded WebTV Networks internet TV. By the end of 1999 the Dishplayerhad full DVR capabilities and within a year, over 200,000 units weresold.

In the UK, digital video recorders are often referred to as “plus boxes”(such as BSKYB's Sky+ and Virgin Media's V+ which integrates an HDcapability, and the subscription free Freesat+ and Freeview+). FreeviewPVR have been around in the UK since the late 2010s British SkyBroadcasting markets a popular combined EPG and DVR as Sky+. TiVolaunched a UK model in 2000, and while no longer on sale, thesubscription service is still maintained. South African based AfricaSatellite TV beamer Multichoice recently launched their DVR which isavailable on their DStv platform. In addition to ReplayTV and TiVo,there are a number of other suppliers of digital terrestrial (DTT) DVRs,including Thomson, Topfield, Fusion, Pace Micro Technology, Humax, A CRyan Playon and Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB).

Many satellite, cable and IPTV companies are incorporating digital videorecording functions into their set-top box, such as with DirecTiVo,DISHPlayer/DishDVR, Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8xxx from Time Warner,Total Home DVR from AT&T U-verse, Motorola DCT6412 from Comcast andothers, Moxi Media Center by Digeo (available through Charter, Adelphia,Sunflower, Bend Broadband, and soon Comcast and other cable companies),or Sky+. Astro introduced their DVR system, called Astro MAX, which wasthe first PVR in Malaysia but was phased out two years after itsintroduction.

In the case of digital television, there is no encoding necessary in theDVR since the signal is already a digitally encoded MPEG stream. Thedigital video recorder simply stores the digital stream directly todisk.

In 2003 many Satellite and Cable providers introduced dual-tuner digitalvideo recorders. In the UK, BSkyB introduced their first PVR Sky+ withdual tuner support in 2001. These machines have two independent tunerswithin the same receiver. The main use for this feature is thecapability to record a live program while watching another live programsimultaneously or to record two programs at the same time, possiblywhile watching a previously recorded one. Kogan Technologies introduceda dual-tuner PVR in the Australian market allowing free-to-airtelevision to be recorded on a removable hard drive. Some dual-tunerDVRs also have the ability to output to two separate television sets atthe same time. The PVR manufactured by UEC (Durban, South Africa) andused by Multichoice and Scientific Atlanta 8300DVB PVR have the abilityto view two programs while recording a third using a triple tuner.

Where several digital subchannels are transmitted on a single RFchannel, some PVRs can record two channels and view a third, so long asall three subchannels are on two channels (or one).

In the United States, DVRs were used by 32 percent of all TV householdsin 2009, and 38 percent by 2010, with viewership among 18- to40-year-olds 40 percent higher in homes that have them.

Digital video recorders are often integrated in the LCD and LED TV-sets.These systems let the user simplify the wiring and installation, becausethey do not use ports (SCART or HDMI), and they only need to use onlyone device and power and the same remote control instead of two.

There are examples of security systems integrated into such DVRs, andthus they are capable of recording more input streams in parallel. Someof them include wireless ports such as (Bluetooth and Wi-Fi), so theycan play and record files to or from cellular phones and other devices.Such devices can also be used as disguised observation systems,displaying pictures or videos as typical store display.

Software and hardware is available which can turn personal computersrunning Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X into DVRs, and is apopular option for home-theater PC (HTPC) enthusiasts.

Standalone over-the-air (OTA) digital video recorders are hardware-basedset-top-boxes that use an HDTV antenna to record over-the-air broadcasttelevision signals. Several companies have launched over-the-air DVRproducts for the consumer market over the past few years.

For example, Elgato makes a series of digital video recording devicescalled EyeTV. The software supplied with each device is also calledEyeTV, and is available separately for use on compatible third-partytuners from manufacturers such as Pinnacle, TerraTec, and Hauppauge.

SageTV provided DVR software for the Mac but no longer sells it.Previously sold devices support the Hauppauge HVR-950, myTV.PVR andHDHomeRun hardware with its DVR software. SageTV software also includedthe ability to watch YouTube and other online video with a remotecontrol.

MythTV (see above) also runs under Mac OS X, but most recording devicesare currently only supported under Linux. Precompiled binaries areavailable for the MythTV front-end, allowing a Mac to watch video from(and control) a MythTV server running under Linux.

Apple provides applications in the FireWire software developer kit whichallow any Mac with a FireWire port to record the MPEG2 transport streamfrom a FireWire equipped cable box (for example: Motorola DCT62xx,including HD streams). Applications can also change channels on thecable box via the firewire interface. Only broadcast channels can berecorded as the rest of the channels are encrypted. FireRecord (formerlyiRecord) is a free scheduled-recording program derived from this SDK.

There are several free digital video recording applications availablefor Microsoft Windows including GB-PVR, MediaPortal, and Orb (web-basedremote interface).

There are also several commercial applications available includingCyberLink, SageTV (which is no longer available after Google acquired itin June 2011), Beyond TV (which is considered discontinued despite anofficial announcement from SnapStream since the last update was October2010 and they are concentrating on their enterprise search products),DVBViewer, Showshifter, InterVideo WinDVR, the R5000-HD and Meedio (nowa dead product—Yahoo! bought most of the company's technology anddiscontinued the Meedio line, and rebranded the software Yahoo! Go-TV,which is now a free product but only works in the U.S). Most TV tunercards come bundled with software which allows the PC to recordtelevision to hard disk. See TV tuner card. For example, Leadtek'sWinFast DTV1000 digital TV card comes bundled with the WinFast PVR2software, which can also record analog video from the card's compositevideo input socket.

Windows Media Center is a DVR software by Microsoft which was bundledwith the Media Center edition of Windows XP, the Home Premium/Ultimateeditions of Windows Vista, as well as most editions of Windows 7. WhenWindows 8 was released in 2012, Windows Media Center was not includedwith Windows 8 OEM or Retail installations, and was only available as a$15 add-on pack (including DVD Playback codecs) to Windows 8 Pro users.

Television and video are terms that are sometimes used interchangeably,but differ in their technical meaning. Video is the visual portion oftelevision, whereas television is the combination of video and audiomodulated onto a carrier frequency (i.e., a television channel) fordelivery. Most DVRs can record both.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential characteristics of the claimed subject matter, nor is itintended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimedsubject matter.

Several embodiments include a method of indexing a previously digitallyrecorded program of an audio and video program and can comprise:

first, downloading the digital recording of the audio and video program;

second, and later, downloading from a server an index of the digitalaudio and video program to be associated with the digital recording ofthe audio and video program so as to facilitate navigation of thedigital recording of the audio and video program, the second, and laterdownloading from the server of the index can occur between 1 minute and1 week later, about 5 minutes, about 30 minutes, about one hour, aboutone day, or about one week later.

third associating the index to the digital audio and video recordingenabling a user of the digitally recorded audio and video program tonavigate the digital recording of the audio and video program accordingto the index;

fourth, enabling the user to navigate the indexed associated digitalrecording of the audio/video program using the index applied to thedigital recording of the audio and video program.

The indexing may not be previously predictable prior to recording of theaudio and video program as the indexed events or programs may not bepreviously determined.

The audio and video program can be a sports event and the indexing canbe directed to a division of the sports event determined or including bythe beginning and/or end of a quarter, period, bout, or half-time eventof the sports event.

The audio and video program can be a reality show where a certainchapter or segment of the program extends in length longer or shorterthan another chapter or segment of the program. In these embodiments theduration of the certain chapter or segment of the reality show might notbe previously known.

The audio and video program can be a news program where a certainchapter or segment of the news program extends in length longer orshorter than another chapter or segment. In these embodiments theduration of the certain chapter or segment of the news program might notbe previously known.

The downloading of an audio visual advertising segment can be insertedor supplement the recording while the user navigates from a firstindexed segment to a second indexed segment.

The audio and video program can be audio and visually adjusted accordingto the index.

The indexing of the audio and video program can be manually selectableby the user.

The indexing of the audio and video program can be viewable and manuallyapproved by the user prior to its application to the program.

The indexing of the audio and video program can be automatically ormanually determined based on a personal attribute of the user.

The indexing of the audio and video program can be determined andselected based on the age of the user.

The indexing of the audio and video program can be determined based on aspecial need of the user such as a medical need or specific interestthereof.

The audio visual advertisement can be presented in a sub-window as theuser navigates from the first indexed segment to the second indexedsegment.

The audio visual advertisement can be presented in a manner that isentirely secondary to the display of the original audio visual programas the user navigates from the first indexed segment to the secondindexed segment.

The audio visual advertisement can be presented to the user via anemail, messaging, or text media.

The audio visual advertisement can be presented in a manner that isentirely secondary to the display of the original audio visual programas the user navigates from the first indexed segment to the secondindexed segment.

The audio visual advertisement can be presented in a social media onceagreed upon by the user.

The audio visual advertisement can be presented in a manner that doesnot disturb the time-shifting aspect of the forwarding navigation fromthe first indexed segment to the second indexed segment.

The audio visual advertisement can be subsequently updated based on ageoreferenced location of the user.

The subsequent updating of the audio visual advertisement based on thegeoreferenced location of the user can be conducted between 1 minute and1 week later, about 5 minutes, about 30 minutes, about one hour, aboutone day, or about one week later, one month later, or more depending onthe circumstances.

The audio visual advertisement can be subsequently updated based on afight ticket aspect based on bouts or divisions of the fight.

An apparatus or computer readable medium can be configured to performthe aspects discussed herein.

A server can also be configured to provide the data to the DVR asdiscussed herein.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe description which follows, and in part will be obvious from thedescription, or may be learned by the practice of the invention. Thefeatures and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained bymeans of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out inthe appended claims. These and other features of the present inventionwill become more fully apparent from the following description andappended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention asset forth hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To further clarify the above and other advantages and features of thepresent invention, a more particular description of the invention willbe rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which areillustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that thesedrawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and aretherefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention willbe described and explained with additional specificity and detailthrough the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

Referring to U.S. Publication 2014/0104495, the contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety as showing componentsof a conventional DVR that can perform and be configured to perform theinventions herein as discussed below.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment upon which embodiments of thepresent invention may be implemented;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example page of a user interface (UI) screen foran electronic program guide (EPG) data according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative example page of a UI screen for EPGdata according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

One aspect of a DVR and DVR server that this patent applicationaddresses is that content is generally recorded before being viewed.And, when viewed, the content is not indexed, such as in a movie DVD orother aspect where you can navigate from section to section. For examplein a sports game recording it would be impossible to index the sportsgame prior to its recording as it is impossible to predict when a firstperiod, quarter, or other variable portion were to begin and end; and,it is impossible to selectively navigate around advertising, commentary,pre-shows, post-shows, etc. there between, for example. Moreover, inmany TV shows the beginning and ending of a chapter or segment is notalways predictable. For example, in Shark Tank there may be one episodeportion of a first proposed product proposed that is longer than asecond episode portion of a second proposed product proposed. And,currently these DVR recorded shows are not accurately indexed such thata user can manually skip through the recording and other mediapreviously discussed as well as introductions to the cast to reach thenext chapter, section, period, or quarter. As such, an ample amount ofuser time is used to scan, or time shift, to another desired locationinstead of skip, be provided with an understandable index or otherwiseunderstand the program's content.

Moreover, there might be a news program that is not properly indexed.For example, 60 Minutes, Frontline, Nova, Nightline, Local News, or20/20 may not have an indexed navigatable criteria to manually, orautomatically, navigate the program after the program is recorded.According to some embodiments disclosed herein a news program can alsobe indexed. Importantly to some embodiments, the indexing of suchprogram is different from post-recording a live program as most newsprograms are at least partially prerecorded making indexing possible.However, pre-indexing a lived recorded program on a DVR is clearlydifficult, if not impossible, depending on the timeframe.

Thus, a user can benefit from a post-provided adjusted, or indexed,digital audio and video program recorded on a DVR. In addition, aprovider of that program can benefit from an increased viewing of thatadjusted, or index enabled, navigable program on a subscriber's DVR,such as a TWO box or other DVR device. For example, a program might havemultiple sections of a sports event, chapters of a story, sections of amovie, or sections of a reality show, such as Shark Tank or otherreality show, for example. And, a subscriber might enjoy having thosesections of a digitally recorded (DVR'd) recording indexed andnavegatable. Such subscriber might also be charged an additionalsubscription for such service. That is, they can be charged, or receiveadvertisement, to skip to the desired location within the DVR'drecording as opposed to scanning through the program. Moreover, an indexmap, or guide, can be visually provided to the user to inform them ofthe customized indexing and content locations of the media previouslyrecorded or presented. As such, the user not only receives a recordingof the DVR'd media, but also a visual index or content map thereof. And,as discussed, the mapping and indexing can be customized particularly tothe personal user in some embodiments based on preferences, previoususeage, age, gender, interests, and historical background of programinterest.

In addition, the provider of that program, or a person associatedthereto, can insert advertisement(s) into the program at the indexedlocation(s) to further interest the user or provide profitable mediatherein. In further addition, a selectable or preferred version of themedia may be provided by such indexing in a DVR recording such as forchildren, elderly, certain interest, or special needs users. In furtheraddition, technological means may be used to provide the advertisementwithout disrupting the viewing of the media such as a second screen tosimultaneously display the advertisement media, redirecting media to anemail or text associated with the user.

The advertisement, or supplemental media generated, can also be providedin a small window so as not to constitute a derivative work for purposesof copyright infringement possible concerns. For example, as the usertime-shifts by fast forwarding, the user can be provided with real-timeentertainment advertising in a reduced, tangential, or alternative meansso as to leave the original media in-place as far as a DVR is concerned.

Moreover, the inserted advertisement media can be updated in the DVRpost-recording. For example, an advertisement between index A insertedbetween period 1 and period 2 of a hockey game can be modified in a DVRrecording from MCDONALDS to IN AND OUT BURGER either in the same or asubsequent game. In addition, the advertisement in a DVR recording in ageographic, or specific location can be changed likewise. For example,FIVE GUYS restaurant might be well received in one location such asWashington, D.C., (Location A) but not another such as in Salt LakeCity, Utah (Location B). As a result, a FIVE GUYS advertisement can beinserted at an indexed location 1 for residents of Washington D.C.(Location A) and a BURGER KING advertisement can be inserted into theDVR recording at index 2 (Location B) for another location.

Thus, for this example, there can be one or more of: (1) an indexinsertion into a DVR recording. There can also be (2) advertisingprovided at that indexed DVR recording. There can also be (3)georeferenced, age, preference, selective, selection of advertisingprovided at that indexed location. There can also be (4) user selectioncriteria of advertising provided at that indexed location. Importantly,the base for such options is centered on an inserted index to a DVR'dprogram outside of the original program itself. And, the program is nota hard source such as a DVD or such as the product sold by Cleanflicks.Rather, it exists generally in software, content downloaded and updated,or a copy downloaded via a DVR including metadata, internal tags, a timeindexed adjacent media that supplements the program, or other indicatorstherein, or an external indicator map downloaded and downloaded thereinwhen requested by the map therein.

The index insertion can be manually, or automatically inserted. Forexample, for parental controls, preferred controls, preferentialcontrols, or elderly controls, an index can be inserted manually by apublisher. Moreover, auto recognition can be used or a studio mightissue insertion of an index for excluding a portion of media recorded bya DVR or based on a preference of the particular viewer.

Moreover, modification of the DVR recording may be subsequently made bythe distributor. For example, if certain content of the recording isdetermined to be inappropriate the distributor can replace that portionusing an index or map thereof. And, if a certain portion is deemed toviolate a law such as copyright or privacy laws such modification can beautomatically made after the recording is distributed and recorded.

As further addition, the advertisement(s) can be selectable in the DVR'dmedia to allow the user to automatically receive online advertisementincentive or to further investigate or purchase a product associatedwith the advertisement(s). For example, at the DVR indexed advertisementarea, a user selectable portion can be provided for the user to requestfurther information or promotions. This may redirect the viewer/user toanother online distributable media. The online distributable media canask the user for additional information, such as an email, and providean incentive to further pursue a product.

Again, and importantly, certain embodiments of the invention relate to aDVR recording. The ability to be interactively and continuouslyconnected to the recording and provide an interactive and custominterface to the media is an important aspect of the invention. The usercan be provided with a custom or preferable index to the media such asindexes to the media not previously provided. The user can also beprovided with customized advertising. The advertising can be customizedto the user's preferences, geographic location, gender, age, previous orcurrent interests, etc. However the indexing and advertisements areaccomplished using a DVR recording that may or may not be updated overtime.

For example, a user might record a fighting ticket, which might includeseveral matches. By indexing the recording, the user can skip to theheadliner or other match of most interest instead of “fast forwarding”to the desired portion. As a consequence, the user might be required toview some advertisement. Nevertheless, the user was able to save timeand view the desired content and the provider of the media or a thirdparty was able to provide some advertisement value.

Referring to U.S. Publication 2014/0104495, the contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety as showing componentsof a conventional DVR of which may be capable of being configured topractice some of the features of this invention disclosed and claimedherein. FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment upon which one or moreembodiments of the present invention may be implemented, for example.Thus, it is admitted that DVRs, televisions, movies, recorded events andprograms, and servers connected to the internet are not unknown devicesas discussed hereinafter, however, not as claimed and discussedpreviously.

FIG. 1 shows a multimedia device 100, a content provider 101, a displaydevice 102, a statistics server 103, a network 104, and an EPG server105. The multimedia device 100 includes any of: an audio/visual input106, an audio/visual output 107, a network input/output 108, a tuner109, a display subsystem 110, and a storage device 111. The storagedevice 111 stores EPG data 112 and channel usage statistics 113. The EPGdata 112 may be stored in storage device 111 in any form, e.g.,database, linked list, flat file, or any type of data structure. Each ofthese components are presented to clarify the functionalities describedherein and may not be necessary to implement the invention. Furthermore,components not shown in FIG. 1 may also be used to perform thefunctionalities described herein.

Multimedia device 100 represents any device capable of processing orpresenting multimedia content. For example, multimedia device 100 mayrepresent a set top box, such as a DVR, thin client, etc.

In an embodiment, audio/visual input 106 is any component that allowsreceipt of content from content provider 101. For example, audio/visualinput 106 may represent a cable receiver, a radio receiver, or asatellite dish.

In an embodiment, content provider 101 represents any source from whichmultimedia device 100 may derive content. For example, content provider101 may represent a local broadcaster that streams media content tomultimedia device 100 over one or more channels or over the Internet. Inone embodiment, content provider 101 transmits content over one or moreanalog frequencies. However, in another embodiment, content provider 101transmits content in the form of a digital stream, using encodings suchas MPEG-2, MPEG-4, etc.

In an embodiment, tuner 109 is any hardware or software component thatallows multimedia device 100 to select content streamed by contentprovider 101 over a particular channel. In one embodiment, tuner 109changes to a particular channel by tuning to an analog frequencyassociated with the particular channel. In another embodiment, tuner 109changes to a particular channel by demultiplexing a digital streamprovided by content provider 101. For example, the digital stream may bemultiplexed using techniques such as statistical multiplexing, codedivision multiplexing, time division multiplex, or any othermultiplexing techniques. Thus, depending on the embodiment, tuner 109may rely upon tags, codes, time markers, or other features of thedigital stream to select content associated with a particular channel.In an embodiment, after tuner 109 selects content from a particularchannel, the tuner 109 provides the content to display subsystem 110.

In an embodiment, display subsystem 110 represents any combination ofone or more hardware or software components that processes and transferscontent to display device 102 through audio/visual output 107. In someembodiments, display subsystem 110 is capable of modifying the contentprovided by tuner 109 before transferring the content to display device102. For example, display subsystem 110 may insert notifications, logos,advertisements, menu overlays, and other graphical elements into thecontent provided by tuner 109. In other embodiments, the graphicalelements may be displayed instead of the content provided from tuner109. For example, during a pause for a commercial break or to display amenu that covers the entire display of display device 102, as opposed tobeing overlaid over the content. In still other embodiments, the contentfrom tuner 109 may be minimized to cover only part of the display ofdisplay device 102 with graphical elements inserted into the resultingfree space. In an embodiment, the graphical elements used by displaysubsystem 110 are stored on storage device 111. However, in otherembodiments, display subsystem 110 generates the graphical elements fromdata stored on storage device 111. In an embodiment, display subsystem110 is the component of multimedia device 100 responsible for providinga view of the EPG data 112 to display device 102 for presentation to auser. In an embodiment, display subsystem 110 sorts through the EPG data110 and constructs a user interface (UI) which is then provided todisplay device 102.

In an embodiment, audio/visual output 107 is any component that allowstransfer of audio/visual data to display device 102. For example,audio/visual output 107 may represent an RCA connector, DVI, FireWire,Fiber-Optic, HDMI, DisplayPort, etc.

In an embodiment, storage device 111 is any device capable of storingdata. For example, storage device 111 may represent a hard drive disk,solid state drive (SSD), random access memory (RAM), a flash drive,other storage devices, and combinations thereof.

In an embodiment, display device 102 is any device capable of displayingmultimedia content. For example, display device 102 may be a televisionset, monitor, etc.

In an embodiment, network 104 represents any combination of one or morelocal networks, wide area networks, internetworks, service providernetworks, etc. Data exchanged over network 104, may be transferred usingany number of network layer protocols, such as Internet Protocol(TCP/IP), Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), Asynchronous TransferMode (ATM), Frame Relay, etc. Furthermore, in embodiments where network104 represents a combination of multiple networks, different networklayer protocols may be used at each of the underlying networks. In someembodiments, network 104 represents the Internet.

In an embodiment, multimedia device 100 connects to network 104 throughnetwork input/output 108. For example, network input/output 108 mayinclude a direct Ethernet connection, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) portfor a wired or wireless Ethernet adapter, etc.

In an embodiment, EPG server 105 represents any server capable ofproviding EPG information to multimedia device 100. In an embodiment,EPG server 105 periodically sends updates to multimedia device 100 forincorporation into EPG data 112. For example, EPG server 105 may, at endof each week, send multimedia device 100 scheduling information relatedto the programs that will be aired during the next week or, optionally,send multimedia device 100 a notification that an EPG update isavailable. In an embodiment, incorporation includes updating EPG data112 with new information or replacing EPG data 112 with new datareceived from EPG server 105. In other embodiments, rather than EPGserver 105 initiating periodic updates, multimedia device 100periodically requests updates from the EPG server 105.

In some embodiments, multimedia device 100, when receiving an update orindependently of the reception of an update from EPG server 105,retrieves advertisements or instructions to play advertisements inassociation with particular channels or programs. These advertisements,in some embodiments, may be placed by display subsystem 110 into menusassociated with those channels or programs. In other embodiments, theadvertisements may be added to the content provided by tuner 109 whenmultimedia device 100 presents the associated channel or program.

In an embodiment, EPG data 112 contains metadata representing channelinformation. For example, the metadata for each channel may include achannel number, a channel name, a call sign, and a timeline of whenprograms air on the channel. Furthermore, EPG data 112 may containmetadata specific to particular programs, such as program title, contentrating, actors, synopsis, producer, director, episode number (forprograms that are episodic), reviews, etc.

In an embodiment, statistics server 103 is any server storing statisticsrelated to channel usage. For example, statistics server 103 may storethe frequency with which particular channels are accessed within variousgeographical areas or demographics. In order to compile thesestatistics, statistics server 103 may periodically poll for, or receivefrom, multimedia device 100, or other multimedia devices not depicted inFIG. 1, statistics related to how often particular channels are accessedby the users of each respective multimedia device. Thus, in anembodiment, when a user selects a channel, multimedia device 100indicates the selection within channel usage statistics 113. Examples ofinformation that may be stored within channel usage statistics 113include channel number, channel name, call sign, the program playing atthe time of selection, user profile data, the length of time the channelor program was viewed, timestamp, etc. In some embodiments, theinformation contained within channel usage statistics 113 may beanonymized before or after being transferred to statistics server 103 inorder to protect user privacy. In an alternative embodiment, rather thanstatistics server 103 performing polling, each respective multimediadevice may periodically report out collected statistics to statisticsserver 103.

In an embodiment, once statistics server 103 receives channel usage datafrom one or more multimedia devices, statistics server 103 analyzes thedata for trends such as popular channels within geographical areas,demographics, or other any other type of grouping criteria. Statisticsserver 103 can then make the statistics related to the aforementionedtrends available to multimedia device 100. Thus, multimedia device 100may retrieve the trend statistics from statistics server 103 and storethem within channel usage statistics 113 along with any independentlycollected statistics. For example, the statistics retrieved fromstatistics server 103 may relate to general groups of users whereas thestatistics collected locally may relate to the specific users ofmultimedia device 100. In one embodiment, multimedia device 100 employschannel usage statistics 113 to determine which graphical elements (e.g.advertisements, etc.) should be displayed to a user. Furthermore, aswill be described in more detail in later sections, multimedia device100 in some embodiments uses channel usage statistics 113 to determinethe order to present channels in various menus related to channel tuningand the display of EPG data 112.

3.0 Displaying the Electronic Program Guide

In an embodiment, multimedia device 100 displays a user interface (UI)presenting at least a portion of the EPG data 112 in response toreceiving user input. For example, the user may utilize a remote thathas a “guide” button that can be used to instruct the multimedia device100 to display the EPG data 112 UI. As another example, the multimediadevice 100 may present a menu with an option for displaying the EPG data112 UI. In other embodiments, the multimedia device 100 displays the EPGdata 112 UI automatically. For example, multimedia device 100 maydisplay the EPG data 112 UI in response to the multimedia device 100 orthe display device 102 being activated by a user. As a result, when auser begins a session of watching programs using multimedia device 100,the user is initially presented with EPG data 112 UI.

In some cases, EPG data 112 may contain information for a large numberof channels, potentially hundreds or even thousands of channels. As aresult, display device 102 may not be able to display all theinformation contained within EPG data 112 simultaneously withoutsignificantly impacting the readability of the information. Thus,according to an embodiment, the information contained within EPG data112 is displayed in pages, each of which contains information for asubset of the channels represented within EPG data 112. In addition,pages may further save space on the display of display device 102 byincluding only a subset of the information available for each channel.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example page 200 of a UI for EPG data 112according to an embodiment.

Page 200 is depicted within FIG. 2 in tabular format, with the rowsrepresenting each channel and the columns representing one or moreinformational elements for each channel. However, in other embodiments,page 200 may be displayed in formats other than a table.

The informational elements contained by page 200 include channel names201, channel numbers 202, and one or more selectable items 203representing the programs A1-H4 that have aired, are airing, or will beaired on each channel during time frames 204. Although each of the timeframes 204, depicted in FIG. 2 represent a half hour interval, in otherembodiments the time frames 204 may represent any other arbitraryinterval or any combination of arbitrary intervals. For example, programA1 is depicted as airing on channel AAA at 8:00 PM. In otherembodiments, the order and content of the informational elements maydiffer from the depiction of page 200.

In an embodiment, selectable items 203 display information for each ofprograms A1-H4 including program name, genre, content rating, and/or ashort description of the program. Furthermore, users may select one ofthe selectable items to display additional information from EPG data 112related to the corresponding program. For example, the additionalinformation may include a more complete description of the program, thedirector of the program, the main actors of the program, a synopsis ofthe episode (should the program be episodic), production date, reviewsof the program, etc. Furthermore, in the case where multimedia device100 is a DVR or otherwise has the ability to record programs, the usermay be presented with an option to schedule the program for recording.In other embodiments, the information displayed by each selectable itemand/or displayed in response to selecting a selectable item may differfrom the aforementioned examples.

In an embodiment, users are able to select a selectable item using a“pointer” oriented input device, such as a mouse or motion sensingcontroller Thus, the user orients the pointer over the desiredselectable item and “clicks” to select the selectable item. In otherembodiments, users select a selectable item using an input device withdirectional buttons, such as a remote control. Thus, multimedia device100 navigates the user to an initial selectable item, which may behighlighted or otherwise visually distinguished from the otherselectable items displayed on page 200. Then, utilizing the directionalbuttons, the user can navigate to adjacent selectable items, with themultimedia device 100 maintaining the highlighting over the selectableitem to which the user is currently navigated. Once the user hasnavigated to a desired selectable item, the user can indicate selectionby, for example, pressing a “select” button on the input device.

In an embodiment, multimedia device 100 allows the user to “scroll”through the channels represented within the EPG data 112. In oneembodiment, the EPG data 112 may list the channels in a particularorder, such as ascending or descending order by channel number.Initially, page 200 displays information for a particular number ofchannels corresponding to a segment of the list. The segment may be thetop of the list, the bottom of the list, or an intermediate portion ofthe list. When the user attempts to navigate beyond the top-most orbottom-most boundary of page 200, multimedia device 100 shifts thesegment further up or further down the list respectively (with orwithout wrap-around) to change the channels that are being displayed.For example, page 200 is depicted as containing information for channels22-29. Should the user attempt to navigate upwards from the rowrepresenting channel “22”, page 200 may be updated to displayinformation for channels 21-28. Similarly, should the user attempt tonavigate downwards from the row representing channel “29”, page 200 maybe updated to display information for channels 23-30. In otherembodiments, multimedia device 100 may allow the user to “page up” or“page down”, shifting the segment further up or down the list by morethan one channel. In an embodiment, the number of channels shifted isbased on the number of channels displayed on page 200. For example, inresponse to receiving user input to “page up” from page 200, page 200may be updated to display information for channels 14-21.

In an embodiment, multimedia device 100 allows the user to “scroll”through the informational items available for each channel. In oneembodiment, when the user attempts to navigate further to the right thanthe right-most boundary of the selectable items 203 on page 200,multimedia device 100 updates page 200 to advance the time frames thatare currently being displayed. For example, should the user attempt tonavigate further right from the column representing 9:30 pm, page 200may be updated to display the programs playing from 8:30-10:30 PM.Similarly, when the user attempts to navigate further to the left thanthe left-most boundary of the selectable items on 203 on page 200,multimedia device 100 updates page 200 to display programs playingduring a previous time frame. For example, should the user attempt tonavigate further left from the column representing 8:00, page 200 may beupdated to display the programs playing from 7:30-9:30 PM.

In some embodiments, multimedia device 100 tunes to a channel displayedon page 200. In one embodiment, multimedia device 100, in response toreceiving user input instructing to tune to a channel, tunes to thechannel associated with the row to which the user is currentlynavigated. For example, if a user is navigated to “Program F1” at thetime user input is received, multimedia device 100 tunes to channel 58.In another embodiment, multimedia device 100 displays a menu option whenone of the selectable items 403 is selected which gives the user theoption to tune to the channel associated with that selectable item. Inyet another embodiment, page 200 includes a selectable item that, whenselected by the user, causes the multimedia device 100 to tune to theassociated channel.

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative display for a page 300 of the EPG data112 UI according to an embodiment. In FIG. 3, channel entries 301represent a list of programs airing on a subset of the channels duringtimeframe 302. Each channel entry of channel entries 301 is associatedwith a particular channel, a particular program, and/or a particulartime and displays information including any of channel number, channelname, call sign, program name, time frame, etc. Similar to page 200 ofFIG. 2, the channel entries 301 can be scrolled by multimedia device 100in response to receiving user input navigating through the channelentries 301. In addition, multimedia device 100 visually distinguishesthe channel entry to which the user is currently navigated withnavigation marker 303. In other embodiments, rather than usingnavigation marker 303, multimedia device 100 may visually distinguishthe channel entry to which the user is currently navigated using othertechniques, such as highlighting the channel entry, displaying thechannel entry in a different font, adjusting the channel entry's size,etc.

Navigation header 304 displays information for the program associatedwith the channel entry to which the user is currently navigated. Forexample, navigation header 304 may display the program's name and thetime frame during which the program airs. In addition, programdescription 304 contains a short description of the program. When theuser is navigated to a particular channel entry, multimedia device 100displays a list of program entries 305, representing programs airing onthe associated channel during previous, current, and/or future timeframes. In some embodiments, program entries 305 display the same typesof information as channel entries 301. However, in other embodiments,program entries 305 display different types of information than channelentries 301. For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 3, each programentry displays a program name and a time during which the program airswhereas each channel entry displays a program name, channel name, andchannel number. In the illustration of FIG. 3, the user is currentlynavigated to the channel entry associated with “Program 1” airing onchannel “KTVU” at 2:00 pm. Thus, program entries 305 contain one or moreentries representing the programs associated with channel “KTVU” thatare viewable in whole or in part during the period 2:00 pm-5:30 pm. Inan embodiment, multimedia device 100, in response to user input, scrollsthrough program entries 305 and displays additional program entriesrepresenting previous or subsequent timeframes beyond those currentlydisplayed.

In an embodiment, multimedia device 100 determines whether the user isscrolling through channel entries 301 or program entries 305 based onoperating mode. For example, multimedia device 100 may begin by defaultin an operating mode that assumes input indicating to scroll should beinterpreted as scrolling through channel entries 301. However, shouldmultimedia device 100 receive a particular type of input, multimediadevice 100 changes to an operating mode that interprets future inputindicating to scroll as scrolling through program entries 305.Similarly, in response to receiving another type of input, multimediadevice 100 returns to the original operating mode. For example, assuminga directional input device, a user may scroll by submitting inputindicating “up” or “down”. Thus, initially, “up” and “down” areinterpreted as scrolling through channel entries 301. In response toreceiving input indicating “right” multimedia device 100 changes to anoperational mode that interprets future “up” and “down” input asscrolling through program entries 305. Then, in response to receivinginput indicating “left”, multimedia device 100 returns to the originaloperating mode and interprets future “up” and “down” input as scrollingthrough channel entries 301. In other embodiments, the scrolling inputand the input that causes multimedia device 100 to change modes maydiffer from the above example. Furthermore, in some embodiments, thesame type of input may be used to switch between operational modes, asopposed to different inputs being used to switch back and forth asdescribed in the example above.

In an embodiment, in response to user input selecting an entry fromchannel entries 301 or program entries 305, multimedia device 100displays additional information related to the selected entry. Forexample, the additional information may include a more detaileddescription of the associated program, content ratings, actors,directors, producers, reviews, and/or options to view the associatedprogram or schedule the associated program for recording.

In an embodiment, multimedia device 100 displays the EPG data 112 UI inaccordance with the techniques described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,642,939,“Multimedia Schedule Presentation System”, owned by the Applicants, theentire contents of which is incorporated by reference for all purposesas though fully stated herein.

Although the following descriptions and examples will be describedprimarily in reference to the page format illustrated in FIG. 2, thesame techniques may be applied in other embodiments to different pageformats, such as the page format illustrated in FIG. 3, the UI describedin “Multimedia Schedule Presentation System”, etc.

The embodiments described herein may include the use of a specialpurpose or general-purpose computer including various computer hardwareor software modules, as discussed in greater detail below.

Embodiments within the scope of the present invention also includecomputer-readable media for carrying or having computer-executableinstructions or data structures stored thereon. Such computer-readablemedia can be any available media that can be accessed by a generalpurpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and notlimitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM,CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to carryor store desired program code means in the form of computer-executableinstructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a generalpurpose or special purpose computer. When information is transferred orprovided over a network or another communications connection (eitherhardwired, wireless, or a combination of hardwired or wireless) to acomputer, the computer properly views the connection as acomputer-readable medium. Thus, any such connection is properly termed acomputer-readable medium. Combinations of the above should also beincluded within the scope of computer-readable media.

Computer-executable instructions comprise, for example, instructions anddata which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer,or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function orgroup of functions. Although the subject matter has been described inlanguage specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, itis to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appendedclaims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or actsdescribed above. Rather, the specific features and acts described aboveare disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

As used herein, the term “module” or “component” can refer to softwareobjects or routines that execute on the computing system. The differentcomponents, modules, engines, and services described herein may beimplemented as objects or processes that execute on the computing system(e.g., as separate threads). While the system and methods describedherein are preferably implemented in software, implementations inhardware or a combination of software and hardware are also possible andcontemplated. In this description, a “computing entity” may be anycomputing system as previously defined herein, or any module orcombination of modulates running on a computing system.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from its spirit or essential characteristics. The describedembodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrativeand not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicatedby the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. Allchanges which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of theclaims are to be embraced within their scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A multi-media device for recording and indexing adigital audio and video program, the indexing being received by themulti-media device from a server computer, the multi-media devicecomprising: one or more audio and video input; one or more audio andvideo output; one or more processor device; one or more non-transitorystorage device that stores the audio and video program as it is receivedby the multi-media device; the one or more non-transitory storage devicealso having stored thereon executable instructions which, when executedby the one or more processor device, implement a method comprising: afirst audio and video program downloading step including at leastpartially downloading the digital recording of the audio and videoprogram, the program including a first segment of the program and asecond segment of the program, the first and second segments of theprogram being defined between a beginning of the program and an end ofthe program; a first index downloading step including downloading fromthe server a first index of the digital audio and video program to themulti-media device, the first index being associated with the digitalrecording of the audio and video program so as to enable a user tonavigate the digital recording of the audio and video program using thedownloaded first index of the digital audio and video program; a firstassociating step including associating the first index to the first andsecond segments of the digital audio and video program saved on themulti-media device thereby enabling the user of the multi-media deviceto digitally navigate the digital recording of the audio and videoprogram according to the first index; a second index downloading stepincluding, while the user navigates the first segment of the audio/videoprogram according to the first index, downloading from the server thesecond index related to at least the second segment of the audio andvideo program, wherein the second segment of the audio and video programand/or a division between the first and second segments of theaudio/video program is updated by the second index while the firstsegment is being navigated by the user according to the first index; andafter the user has navigated the first segment of the program, enablingthe user to navigate the newly indexed second segment of the associateddigital recording of the audio and video program using the subsequentlydownloaded second index of the digital audio and video program such thatthe multi-media device recorded program is interactively andcontinuously indexed by the server as it is displayed to the user. 2.The multi-media device of claim 1, wherein the one or morenon-transitory storage device also have stored thereon executableinstructions which, when executed by the one or more processor device,cause the multi-media device to download the first index before thesecond segment of the audio and video program is predictable and/or isknown.
 3. The multi-media device of claim 1, wherein the audio and videoprogram is a sports event and the indexing of the audio and videoprogram is directed to a defined division of the sports event.
 4. Themulti-media device of claim 3, wherein the defined division of thesports event includes the beginning and/or end of a quarter, period,bout, fight, and/or half-time division of the sports event and theindexing of the audio and video program is directed to the defineddivision of the sports event.
 5. The multi-media device of claim 3,wherein the defined division of the sports event includes a goal, win,final minutes, inserted advertisement, supplemented recording, summary,and/or score of the sports event and the indexing of the audio and videoprogram is directed to the defined division of the sports event.
 6. Themulti-media device of claim 1, wherein a historical background of usageof the user is used to generate the second index.
 7. The multi-mediadevice of claim 1, wherein the audio and video program is a live realityshow where the first segment within an episode of the reality showextends in length longer than the second segment within the episode ofthe reality show and the indexing of the audio and video program isdirected to a defined division between the first and second segmentwithin the episode of the reality show.
 8. The multi-media device ofclaim 1, wherein the audio and video program is a live news programwhere the first segment of the news program extends in length longerthan the second segment of the news program.
 9. The multi-media deviceof claim 1, wherein the audio and video program is a live news programwhere the first segment of the news program is directed to a firstgeographic location and the second segment of the news program relatesto a second geographic location.
 10. The multi-media device of claim 9,wherein the first segment of the news program is different in length oftime than the second segment of the news program.
 11. The multi-mediadevice of claim 1, wherein the one or more non-transitory storage devicealso has stored thereon executable instructions which, when executed bythe one or more processor device, cause the multi-media device todownload an audio visual advertising segment to be inserted orsupplemented within the audio and video program while the user navigatesthe first segment of the audio and video program.
 12. The multi-mediadevice of claim 11, wherein the audio visual advertising segment issubsequently determined and updated thereafter based on a previous eventof the first segment of the originally recorded audio and video programand downloaded by the multi-media device.
 13. The multi-media device ofclaim 11, wherein the audio visual advertising segment is inserted orsupplemented in the second segment of the program while the usernavigates the first indexed segment of the program.
 14. The multi-mediadevice of claim 11, wherein the audio visual advertisement is presentedin a sub-window as the user navigates from the first indexed segment tothe second indexed segment.
 15. The multi-media device of claim 11,wherein the audio visual advertisement is presented in a sub-window tothe user so as to be tangentially displayed to the user tangential tothe original audio visual program.
 16. The multi-media device of claim11, wherein the audio visual advertisement does not disturb thetime-shifting aspect of navigation from the first indexed segment to thesecond indexed segment, rather is time compressed.
 17. The multi-mediadevice of claim 11, wherein the audio visual advertisement associatedwith the second indexed segment is interactively and continuouslyupdated based on a georeferenced location of the user by the secondindex.
 18. The multi-media device of claim 1, wherein the audio andvideo program itself is audio and visually adjusted with a time indexedadjacent media that supplements audio and video media of the secondsegment of the program according to the second index downloaded to themulti-media device.
 19. The multi-media device of claim 1, wherein theindexing of the audio and video program is manually modified by theuser.
 20. The multi-media device of claim 1, wherein the indexing of theaudio and video program is viewable and manually approved by the userprior to its application.
 21. The multi-media device of claim 1, whereinthe second index replaces a portion of the second segment of the audioand video program while the user is navigating the first segmentaccording to the first index.
 22. The multi-media device of claim 21,wherein the portion of the second segment is replaced due to a copyrightand/or privacy violation.
 23. The multi-media device of claim 1, furthercomprising downloading on or more additional indices associated withadditional sections or particular supplemental or insertable audio andvideo media of the audio and video program such that the server isinteractively and continuously connected to the recorded program on themulti-media device.
 24. A server computer for providing an audio andvideo program to a multi-media device along with indexes related to theaudio and video program, the indexing being transmitted to themulti-media device by the server computer, the server computercomprising: one or more audio and video output for transmitting theaudio and video program to the multi-media device; one or more outputfor transmitting the indexes to the multi-media device; one or moreprocessor device; one or more non-transitory storage device that storesthe audio and video program at the server; one or more non-transitorystorage device having stored thereon executable instructions which, whenexecuted by the one or more processor device, implement a methodcomprising: a first audio and video program transmitting step includingat least partially transmitting the digital recording of the audio andvideo program to the multi-media device, the program including a firstsegment of the program and a second segment of the program, the firstand second segments of the program being defined between a beginning ofthe program and an end of the program; a first index transmitting stepincluding transmitting a first index of the digital audio and videoprogram to the multi-media device, the first index being associated withthe digital recording of the audio and video program so as to enable auser to navigate the digital recording of the audio and video programusing the multi-media device and the downloaded first index of thedigital audio and video program, wherein the user of the multi-mediadevice is able to digitally navigate the digital recording of the audioand video program according to the first index transmitted to themulti-media device; a second index transmitting step including, afterthe first segment of the audio and video program is transmitted to themulti-media device, transmitting the second index related to at leastthe second segment of the audio and video program to the multi-mediadevice enabling the multi-media device to update the second segment ofthe audio and video program and/or a division between the first andsecond segments of the audio/video program while the first segment isbeing navigated by the user according to the first index using themulti-media device, such that: after the user has navigated the firstsegment of the program, the user is able to navigate the newly indexedsecond segment of the associated digital recording of the audio andvideo program using the subsequently downloaded second index of thedigital audio and video program; and the recorded program may beinteractively and continuously indexed on the multimedia device as it isdisplayed to the user.
 25. A computer-readable non-transitory datastorage device having a plurality of data fields stored on the mediumand representing a data structure, comprising: electronic program guide(EPG) data used by a tuner of a multi-media device to display multipleavailable channels to a user for selection thereof by the user; channelusage statistics data; a stored first section of an audio and videoprogram data representing a first section of the audio and video programstored in a first range of memory addresses in the medium; a storedsecond section of the audio and video program data representing a secondsection of the audio and video program stored in a second range ofmemory addresses in the medium; a first index stored in a first indexregion of a first range of memory addresses; a second index stored in asecond index region of a second range of memory addresses, the secondindex storing updated relationship information indicating an update tothe first index received after the first index is applied to the audioand video program data, wherein after a first predetermined dataprocessing operation related to the first section of the audio and videoprogram is conducted using the first index, a second predetermined dataprocessing operation related to the second index of the audio and videoprogram is used for a subsequent data processing operation related tothe second section of the audio and video program or a division betweenthe first and second sections of the audio and video program such thatthe program data is able to be interactively and continuously indexed onthe multimedia device according to the first and second index stored onthe medium as the audio and video program is displayed to the user.